Top Ten Chamber Music

[Guest]

While we're doing Top Tens, how about some chamber music?

My top ten pieces would be -

Mozart: Clarinet Quintet
Beethoven: String Quartet, Op. 132
Weber: Clarinet Quintet
Schubert: Octet
Mendelssohn: Octet
Brahms: Piano Quintet
Borodin: String Quartet No. 2
Dvorak: String Quartet No. 12 'American'
Tchiakovsky: Piano Trio
Shostakovich: Cello Sonata.

[Suffolkcoastal]

In alphabetical order by composer:

Britten: String Quartet No 3
Copland: Nonet
Diamond: String Quartet No 3
Roy Harris: Piano Quintet
Martinu: String Quartet No 5
Mendelssohn: Octet
Piston: Piano Quintet
Shostakovich: Piano Quintet
Vaughan Williams: String Quartet No 2
Walton: String Quartet in A minor

[makropulos]

Here are mine, for tonight at least...

Mozart String Quintet in G minor
Haydn Op. 74 No. 3 ('Rider')
Janacek String Quartet No. 1
Dvorak String Quartet in E flat Op. 51
Ravel Piano Trio
Beethoven Quartet Op. 59 No. 3
Brahms Clarinet Quintet
Szymanowski String Quartet No. 2
Bartók Contrasts
Fauré Cello Sonata No. 1

[barber olly]

Mozart Piano & Wind Quintet K452
Borodin SQ2
Schubert Death & Maiden SQ
Schubert Rosamunde SQ
Schubert String Quintet
Schubert Octet
Mendelssohn Octet
Franck Violin Sonata
Ravel Introduction & Allegro
Saint-Saens Septet
Beethoven Spring Sonata
Rachmaninov Cello Sonata

So its a dozen....

[aeolium]

Here's a selection, with 1 work per composer and a mix of instrumentation:

Mozart Piano and Wind quintet in E flat K452
Haydn String Quartet in F op 77 no 2
Beethoven Piano Trio in E flat op 70 no 2
Schubert Fantasy for violin and piano in C D934
Schumann Piano Quintet in E flat op 44
Dvorak Piano Quartet in E flat op 87
Brahms Horn Trio in E flat op 40
Dohnanyi Sextet for piano, clarinet, horn and string trio in C op 37
Nielsen Wind Quintet in A op 43
Howells Rhapsodic Quintet for clarinet and string quartet op 31

[pilamenon]

I would like to have, in no particular order:

Beethoven's "Harp" and "Serioso" quartets
Schubert's "Trout" quintet and "Death and the Maiden" quartet
Chopin's cello sonata
A Schumann violin sonata, possibly No 3
A Brahms piano quartet
A Delius violin sonata, probably No 3
One of the late Shostakovich quartets
Britten's Quartet No 3

[Uncle Monty]

Tonight's attempt at the impossible:

Ravel String Quartet
Vaughan Williams Phantasy Quintet
Shostakovich Chamber Symphony Op 110a
Ireland Cello Sonata in Gm
Schumann Fantasiestucke for Cello & Piano
Vaughan Williams Studies in English Folk Song for Cello & Piano
Stravinsky Suite Italienne
Popper Requiem for 4/6/12 Cellos
Poulenc Suite Francaise
CPE Bach Any Keyboard Sonata

[tom_960]

Just came across this rather under-subscribed thread, so here goes - ottomh, as they write in txtspk:

Schubert Octet
Schubert Death and the Maiden
Schubert String Quintet
Beethoven Quartet Op 130
Brahms Cello Sonata Op 99
Beethoven Cello Sonata Op 5 no 2
Beethoven Piano Trio Op 70 no 1 "Ghost"
Britten String Quartet no 3
Mozart String Quintet in G minor K516
Shostakovich String Quartet no ? - don't know them well enough, but must have one!

[Mr Pee]

No idea what

OTTOMH

represents, but here's my top ten at the moment of typing. It'll probably be quite different by bed-time.

1. Schubert String Quintet.

2. Mozart Piano and Wind Quintet, k452.

3. Beethoven "Archduke" trio.

4. Schubert Octet.

5. Mozart Clarinet Quintet.

6. Brahms Clarinet Quintet.

7. Mozart "13 Wind" Serenade, K361.

8. Mendelssohn Octet.

9. Brahms Trio for French Horn, Violin and Piano.

10. Mendelssohn String Quintet no. 2 in Bb.

[Serial_Apologist]

Very difficult choosing - this being a reduction from an original list of 22 from my recordings.

Bartok - String Quartet No. 5 (1934)

Beethoven - String Quartet in E Flat, Op. 127 (1826)

Berio - Sincronie, for string quartet (1963)

Bridge - String Quartet No. 4 (1937)

Eisler - Septet No 1: Variations on American Children's Songs (1947)

Grisey - Quatre Chants pour Franchir de Seuil (1998)

Schoenberg - String Quartet No. 2 in F sharp minor, Op.10 (1907)

Schoenberg - Serenade, Op. 24 (1923)

Zemlinsky - String Quartet No. 2 (1914)

Shinohara - Percussion: Alternances (1962)

S-A

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Elgar: String Quartet
Elgar: Piano Quintet
Beethoven: String Quartet Op 18, no 6
Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 59,M no. 1
Mozart: String Quintet in G minor
Mendelssohn: Octet
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio in D minor
Britten: String Quartet no. 2
Bartok: String Quartet no. 6
Wagner: Siegfried Idyll

[Quarky]

Chamber music is certainly my favourite form of music, but I am still exploring the vast amount written for this genre.

At the moment, Beethoven has been relegated, with the honourable exception of Kreutzer Sonata, as has Brahms (too "passionate"). Schoenberg and Schnittke are too demanding, Bartok a little too stiff, which leaves:

1. Shostakovich Quartets 1-15 - any or all of them
2. Mozart quartets, quintets - Clarinet, horn, etc.
3. Mozart divertimenti for small wind ensembles
4. Kreutzer sonata
4. Schubert - if I'm in the mood, which is not very often.

[umslopogaas]

Only ten? What a fearsome restriction. But here goes, a brief trawl through my most favorite discs, and I didnt even get to the end of the second box:

Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan: In concert 1972. 4 lp sides, PHEW, magic stuff
Casals, Vegh & Horszowski: Beethoven trios
Oistrakh, Knushevitsky and Oborin: Beethoven Archduke Trio
Oistrakh and Yampolsky: Beethoven Sonata Op. 12 no. 3 and Brahms Op. 108
Rostal and Osborn: Beethoven Sonata Op. 9 ( Kreutzer)
de Vito and Fischer: Brahms Sonatas Op 10 no. 3
Szigeti, Horszowski and Barrow: Brahms Horn Trio etc
du Pre and Barenboim: Chopin and Franck cello sonatas
Menuhin, Kentner and Cassado: Mozart and Ravel trios
Britten and Rostropovich: Britten and Schubert cello sonatas.

I could go on, but that's ten chamber items trawled from my box of special delights. Most of the rest are orchestral, but there are some instrumental items too. Anyway, any views? I'm particularly lost on the Shankar/Khan set, 'Raga Manj Khamaj' is just magic, it goes on for HOURS and that isnt nearly long enough. You have to break half way through to change sides, but hey, no worries, just time for some recreational substances ...

[gurnemanz]

Mozart G minor Quintet K516 - Quatuor Talich

Franck Violin Sonata - Oistrakh/Richter

Brahms Clarinet Trio Op 114

Brahms String Sextet op 18 - Raphael Ensemble

Shostakovich Piano Quintet - Hollywood String Quartet

Beethoven Spring Sonata - Zino Francescatti & Robert Casadesus

Beethoven String Quartet op 135 - Guarneri (Es muss sein)

Schubert Death & the Maiden - Leipziger Streichquartett

Schubert E Flat Piano Trio

Any Haydn Piano Trio

[tony yyy]

Not really a top 10, but 10 interesting pieces:

Haydn: E major Piano Trio H28
Smetana: E Minor String Quartet No 1 From my life
Schoenberg: String Quartet No 2
Mozart: Eb String Trio, K563
Schoenberg: String trio
Mendelssohn: A Major String Quintet, Op 18
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet
Bartok: String Quartet No 5
Beethoven : C Major String Quintet, Op 29
Szymanowski: Violin Sonata